Never Really Been One For Tradition
by Creature Of The Sea
Summary: If Jack had never been eaten, if Will was not bound to the Dutchman, if Weatherby Swann was not dead, and if Cutler Beckett was not all-powerful. rated for future chapters... in between CotBP and DMC, i suppose. JSxOC.
1. Chapter 1

**ok so pretend Weatherby Swann is alive, Will is not bound to the Dutchman, Jack has the Pearl back, and they all lived happily ever after.**

***** **

"And why, exactly, are you doing this?" My father glared at me, his hazel eyes glowering from under his thick beetle brows.

"I don't like living here. I love you, and I love Elizabeth, but I cannot stand to be a 'lady' any longer." I shoved clothes - functional ones - into a canvas bag, steadily avoiding the glare.

"And what do you intend to do, run off and become a pirate? You're a woman of twenty-two, for God's sake! You'll never make it." He was condescending. It irritated me.

"Yes, actually, that is exactly what I intend to do." I snapped, grabbing my sword from under the bed. My father gaped in astonishment at its appearance. It gratified me that, having owned it for over a year, he still didn't know I had it – or could use it, for that matter. I also grabbed the pistol, which I had never used but knew how.

"What on earth…" He was speechless as I swept past him and out the door, my long black braid nearly hitting him. "Adelaide! Stop right there!"

I kept going.

He grabbed my arm, exerting enough force to stop me - temporarily. "Where did you get a sword and pistol, and these men's clothes, and such an unladylike frame of mind?"

I finally looked at him, letting the suppressed spirit that had been building up for years burn through into my sapphire gaze for the first time. "Will gave me the sword, in addition to teaching me how to use it, I stole the clothes and pistol, and _you, _sah, gave me this bloody frame of mind!"

He took a step back from me at the look on my face, horrified at this list of wrongdoing I was throwing in his face. "You _stole_ them?! I... stole them?" He was flustered - good.

"Aye. And my name is Addi, you ought to know that by now." I was slipping easily into my alternate personality, the one that I adopted everyday at the docks – talking, drinking, and occasionally fighting with sailors and if I was lucky, pirates. I clattered down the grand staircase and into the foyer, hoping to make it to the door before he employed a bit more physical force.

He was looking at me like I was a common criminal. "I took you in! Off the streets! And this is how you repay me?"

"Ye took me in because Elizabeth begged you to. Ye took me in because you had no choice." Before he could stop me, I ran – out the door, down the cobblestone drive, and down the hill - into the Port itself.

*******

I burst through the door of the Turner's home, scaring the bejezus out of Elizabeth, who was sitting in the front room, mending a shirt of Will's.

"Addi!" she exclaimed. "What on earth?"

"Why does everybody kept saying that?" I muttered under my breath, looking urgently around for her noticeably absent husband. "Where's Will?"

"In the shop. Did you get in a fight with Father?" She took in my sword, tucked under my arm, and my men's clothes, hanging loosely on my slimly muscled frame.

"Aye. I told him I'm leaving. He didn't take it quite as well as I had hoped."

"Oh, Addi…" Elizabeth, rolled her eyes, presumably at my tactlessness. She knew my hopes and dreams - to become a pirate and to sail with her one-time companion, Jack Sparrow – but she obviously didn't think I should have actually told Weatherby Swann that. "Tell me you didn't mention Jack."

"I didn't."

"Good. That would have set him off."

"I know. Has Will gotten word?"

"I don't know. He was down at the docks today; he might've heard if the Pearl was making port."

I shoved the sword, pistol, and bag into her arms. "Do not lose these." I growled, taking off running, out the back door and into the shop.


	2. Chapter 2

"Will!"

Will looked up, his brawny arm holding a hammer suspended high above a half-forged sword, the ruddy glow of the fires lighting his face from beneath. "Addi!" He lowered the hammer, concern coloring his tone. "What is it?"

"When is the Pearl making port?" The words gushed out of my mouth in my haste.

"I… don't know." He was caught off-guard, taking in my clothes and wildly anxious appearance. "Are you leaving?"

"Aye, as soon as Jack gets his bloody arse here."

"I haven't heard anything. No gossip, no nothing. The Pearl has disappeared again." He eyed me, his dark gaze appraising. "You… look strikingly like Elizabeth did when she went pirating."

"You know we're not actually related - and we're five years apart."

"Aye. But still… she took you in, raised you. Weatherby had as little to do with you as possible until Elizabeth married me and moved into the town. I'll wager it was terrible for you when Barbossa kidnapped her. "

I grimaced. "Aye. Weatherby left with that bloody Norrington to chase the Pearl, and left me here in the care of Estrella, who, by the way, heartily approves of the use of unnecesarey force in the doing-up of corsets."

He chuckled. "You know who else you remind me of?"

I shrugged, impatient.

"Anamaria."

The way he said the name piqued my interest. "Who was she?"

He laughed. "I suspect she was once Captain Sparrow's lover, although neither of them ever admitted it. She was a good pirate, good woman. I never knew what happened to her, though."

I blushed slightly at the comparison, both to a good pirate and to a lover of Jack's. Partly because I still wanted to know and partly to change the subject, I asked, "When do ye _think _the Pearl will make port?"

He shrugged. "I can't say – Jack is a hard man to predict."

"So I've heard."

Will laughed again. He had always found me funny. "How old are you, Addi? Old enough to go to sea?"

"Aye. Twenty-two. How old are _you_?"

"Twenty-seven, the same as Jack and Elizabeth."

My eyes widened. "Captain Sparrow is _twenty-seven_?" Elizabeth had described the man to me, and he didn't sound quite that young.

"Aye. He looks a good deal older than he is, he's been through a lot. His father, Cap'n Teague, is all but immortal, at least as far as I can tell, but Jack... Jack is not." He looked out his small porthole widow, down to the bay, deeply immersed in memories from his time pirating with Jack aboard the Black Pearl. After just a moment, his cloudy look disappeared and he rushed to the widow, dropping his hammer with a loud clang. He leaned out into the street, squinting towards the water.

I shoved him aside, suspecting what he saw. "Well, speak of the devil…" I murmured, a grin spreading over my lips. I spun from the window, dancing across the forge in my happiness. "Not another night in that stuffy house, not another day being forced into a bloody corset, no more Weatherby, no more tea, no more Weatherby, no more manners, no more Weatherby!" For there, at the mouth of the bay, scudding across the waves with the spray flying high at her bow, her ebony sails taut with the wind, was the Black Pearl.

Will stifled another laugh and pulled me, still dancing, out the door and back into the house. "Elizabeth!" he called, hurrying through the house. "Elizabeth, the Pearl is coming in!"

"I saw it!" she called, rushing in. "Will, you know they can't put in at the docks, Father will arrest them if he so much as sees that ship again."

"Then how do ye intend to get us out there?" I demanded, slightly chagrined that I had not realized that fact myself.

Will smiled, a smile full of long-forgotten memory. "Madness… and brilliance."


	3. Chapter 3

"Well…" I was lost for words. This was the most unusual experience I ever had the pleasure to… experience. The water was warm, and my feet sank pleasurably into the pearly white sand.

Will's voice echoed sepulchrally in the enclosed space. "That was my reaction, too."

"Let me guess." I winced at the echo, and attempted to keep my voice down. "Cap'n Sparrow?"

"Aye. We did this when we commandeered the Interceptor, he and I."

"You mean when ye commandeered the Dauntless, in order t' get t' the Interceptor."

His broad shoulders, all I could see of him, shook with laughter. "You know the story well. I'm a-guessing that Elizabeth has told it to you more times than you can count."

"Aye. Those stories are the only thing that kept me goin' through these past years."

He shook his head. "If you hated the Governor's household so much, why'd you stay as long as you did?"

"I had no choice in the matter. If I'd run, when I had no knowledge, no skills, no nothing, I'd have been dead within a week. I couldn't leave – at least, not until ye finished teaching me t' fight."

He snorted. "I can't believe I consented to teach you."

I rolled my eyes. "Please, Will. Pirate is in me blood; ye know this to be true. There's no way ye could _not_ have taught me."

"You even speak like Jack. You two'll make a good match, I'm telling ye." He suddenly stopped speaking, and I could see why – a dark bulk loomed ahead. The hull of the Pearl, her starboard anchor buried deep in the fair sand.

"Leggo." Will ordered.

Obedient, I let go the sides of the dingy. It bubbled upwards instantly, taking with it my sphere of air. The seawater engulfed me, but I could swim well, and I opened my eyes, ignoring the sting of the salt, to see a fuzzy outline that was Will. He beckoned, gesturing towards the anchor chain that spiraled upward into the blue brightness.

I finned through the thick water, grasping the slick, weeded chain between my strong hands. Hoisting my bag of effects higher on my back, I followed Will's feet up and into the air, along the side of the black ship, up and over the rail.

I looked about, but saw no one. The rigging creaked and swayed eerily in the wind, and the sails flapped aimlessly. An empty bottle rolled across the deck. "Where's all the crew?" I whispered to Will.

He shrugged warily, crouching slightly and gesturing to the stairs leading upwards to the helm.

My bare soles and his soft boots made no noise against the deck as we ascended to the wheel. There was no one there. The ship appeared deserted. Will stood straight, a frown disfiguring his brow.

There was a rasp of steel behind us, and, before I could react, an extraordinarily strong, ring-encrusted hand grasped my shoulder tightly, pulling me back to be pressed against the chest of a person – a man - several inches taller than me. A sharp sword's blade was pressed against my throat, effectively silencing me.

Will spun around, his hand on the hilt of his own sword, his eyes darkening with anger.

Sweet, rum-scented breath touched my neck, and a rough but rich voice spoke at my ear. "Lovely lass ye've got here, dear William. May I ask what ye are doin' aboard me ship?"

Will smiled at my captor. "Been a long time, Jack. We've come for a visit. Care to let Addi go?"

A laugh rumbled in the chest I was pressed against. "That depends. Have ye brought Addi, is it, as a gift?"

"Gift my arse." I growled. I was fed up with being held captive. Employing one of my more piratical tricks, I hooked my leg around his and pulled it out from under him, throwing him sharply off balance. His grip around my shoulders lessened ever so slightly, but that was all I needed. I ducked out from under his sword and spun away, drawing my own as I did.

The man who stood in front of me was not at all what I had expected. He had wild black dreads, entwined with countless charms and beads, held back from his tanned, sculpted face by a faded scarlet bandana. His eyes were deep black pools, as black as the kohl riming them, gazing out at me with shrewd amusement and something that was only there for a moment and could have possibly been admiration. His clothes were, like mine, loose and faded, hanging off a rough, leanly muscled body. He was handsome, in a rougish way. I had never expected him to look so much like… a pirate.


	4. Chapter 4

"Ah." The man, who, undoubtedly, was Captain Jack Sparrow, smirked at me. "Got some spirit, have ye, lass?" His eyes ran unashamedly up and down my body – which, I realized, my wet clothes were sticking to every curve of.

I sheathed my sword, deciding deference was the better course with my soon-to-be Captain. "Indeed, Mr. Sparrow."

"Captain Sparrow to you, love." He turned his gaze to Will. "William, me boy. Been a long time, hasn't it? How goes it with Elizabeth?"

"Very happily married, thank you, Jack. And you?"

"Run afoul o' some bad weather. See, 'tis hurricane season down in Tripoli, and we, in attempting to evade that bloody well persistant fellow Norrington, had the misfortune of encountering a particularly voracious one. Me an' the crew have been thinkin' we could use another fine pirate like yerself, which is of course we why we have sailed into this God-forsaken port, seeing as we lost five or six men t' those bloody Pelegostos. And here ye are, having sneaked aboard me ship, and saved me the trouble of sneaking into said port. Would ye not join me crew once more? What say you to that? And Lizzie, of course, is more than welcome, no matter what protests Master Gibbs makes concerning bad luck."

Will smiled. Same old Jack. "I'm a blacksmith, Jack. But funny you should say. This lass here," he nodded at me, "wishes just the same."

The Captain eyed me once more, this time keeping his gaze within the realm of decency. "Well…" He, too, sheathed his sword. "What have ye to say for yerself, eh, love?"

"I want to be a pirate."

"Yes, I gathered that. Anything else?" He was swaying slightly on his feet. I suppose that was the infamous and massive amounts of rum and sun.

"I can fight." I sheathed my sword. "And swim. And sail. And I'm a good deal stronger than most."

"What makes ye think I would want a whelp like ye on board?"

"You just said you wanted another crew member!"

"I said I wanted a fine pirate, which you are not."

"And how do you know? You only just met me."

"Did I now? You look familiar, I do believe I've threatened you before."

"If you had threatened me before, we wouldn't be having this argument, because I'd already be a part of yer crew."

"So sure, love? I just bested you."

"I bested you. Through trickery, no less." I jabbed my finger into his chest for emphasis.

He snapped his mouth shut, instead weaving his way to Will. "William, how did ye come across such a scoundrel as this?"

"She was an orphan, found on the streets and raised by no less than Weatherby Swann."

Jack laughed. "The man must be cursed, then, to turn out two pirate daughters."

It was Will's turn to smirk. "Ah, but that is not all. She is the daughter, the one and only daughter, of Bellamy Fiddler."

"Ye don't say." Jack's surprisingly keen gaze honed in on me once again. "Well, that tidbit of information changes things a bit, don't it, love?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes. My mother was a pirate. A well-known fact among thieves, as it were."

Jack strode slowly around me, one hand curled around the butt of his pistol, a curiously calculating look in his eyes. "Fine-bodied lass… plenty of spirit, as ye've proven…" He swayed to a stop in front of me. "Fine. Ye may join me crew."


	5. Chapter 5

I smiled slightly, not letting the true extent of my happiness show.

Will smiled, too. "Good. Elizabeth would've keel-hauled you if you'd refused."

"Dear Lizzie is not the one I'm worried about." Jack leaned closer to Will, murmuring in his ear, "The Fiddlers are not ones to take the matter of revenge lightly."

I stowed that piece of information away for later contemplation.

Jack turned back to me. "Those sparse rags be all ye own in this world, Miss Addi?"

_'Oh yes, because yours are in much better shape…'_ I thought scathingly. "No." I gestured to Will, and he tossed the canvas bag to me. "Boots, a pistol, some other clothes, and me hat."

"At least ye've a hat… Weigh anchor! Prepare to make sail!" He grabbed the wheel, spinning the ship around to face the open mouth of the bay.

The ship came alive, swarming with men preparing to escape the port. Some climbed up the rigging like rats, untying knots at amazing speeds. The sails billowed within seconds, sending the ship lurching forward across the waves. I grabbed the rail to keep my balance.

"Oi! What about me?"

Jack didn't take his eyes off the horizon. "Swim for it, mate."

Will rolled his eyes. "Such it is with the great Captain Sparrow." Without further ado, he dove over the rail and into the sea.

"Not very obliging, are ye?" I was curious as to the extent that my femininity would let me push him.

"Get t' work, love."

'_There's my answer.'_ I thought, slightly affronted.

**

Mist wove itself around me, fluid and milky white. Its downy, frore touch was pleasant after the fiery sun of a Caribbean day. The coast lay behind us, out of sight but not mind. "Some have died and some are alive… others sail on the sea. With the keys to the cage and the Devil to pay, we lay to Fiddler's Green!" I sang softly to myself. It was peaceful, sitting in the Crow's nest with my arms wrapped around my knees as I watched the waves run by far below. "The Bell has been raised from its watery grave… do you hear its sepulchral tone? We are a call to all, pay heed the squall and turn your sails towards home!"

"Now where did ye learn that, love?"

I nearly fell. "Cap'n! Ye scared the bejezus out of me!"

"It's Jack, love, not Cap'n. Now what are ye doin' all alone up here? Ye can't get away from me by hiding in the Crow's nest."

"The rest of the crew won't come near me. Something about bad luck. And If I wanted to get away from you, would I really have defied the man who raised me, abandoned all that I knew, and voluntarily joined yer crew?"

"Eh… I suppose not, now that ye put it that way. Not exactly Swann tradition, is it, t' become a bloody pirate?"

"Never really been one for tradition. And I'm not a Swann, I'm a Fiddler."

He smiled. "The Fiddlers are an old pirate family… that's why I took ye aboard, ye know. I knew yer mother well. Yer father too. I'll have t-" He suddenly stopped speaking, his head swiveling back in the direction of land.

I heard them too. Dull booms and a curious whistling noise, getting louder all the while.

Jack's eyes widened. "Cannon fire!"

I wrapped my arms around the mast, fighting to keep my balance as a shuddering, crashing boom shook the whole ship. Jack was thrown to his knees, his bottle of rum flying out of his hand to the deck far below. He scrambled back upright, drawing his sword with one hand and swinging down the rigging faster than was safe with the other as he shouted orders to the crew.

Men poured onto the deck, confused and disoriented. The ship shuddered again as another volley hit.

"Captain! Orders!" Gibbs tumbled out on deck, one boot on, the other still clutched in his hand.

"Man the starboard guns! Make way, quickly now, afore we git blown t' bits, ye scabrous dogs!" Jack leaned over the rail, trying to find the attackers.

I stood up, still clutching the mast. I could see a vague shape looming off to starboard, white sails fluttering in the light breeze and bright flashes of light. I squinted. _'It can't be…' _

I swallowed. I knew that ship. "Jack!" I screamed. "Jack, it's the Dauntless!"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"I'll kill him if he interferes, that arrogant, assuming prick… twenty years held captive in Port Royal and the day I escape….!" I growled to myself as I swung down the rigging, sword grasped so tightly it was painful. My booted feet thumped on the deck, and I ducked swiftly as a cannon ball whizzed overhead.

"Git that grapeshot loaded, ye yellow-bellied swabs! Do it! Or 'tis you we'll load into the cannons!" Gibbs was shouting in a constant stream of insults and orders.

The Dauntless was now a defined shape, looming out of the mist. Voices echoed across the water, voices familiar to me. I could hear James, as well as his first lieutenant. There was another voice as well, one I despised hearing.

I crouched low and dashed to Jack's side. "It's me!" I shouted in his ear, trying to be heard over the rumble of cannon fire.

He gave me a look like I was insane. "Of course it's bloody well you. You don't have a twin, do ye?"

"I meant it's me they're after! My father is on that ship! They've come to bring me back!"

"Can't take a hint, that fellow..." Jack mumbled to himself. He strode away, his wobble more pronounced than usual. "GIBBS! Prepare to make sail! Quickly now!"

"We're running away?" Gibbs was slightly puzzled. His captain did not give up the chance to sink any ship, especially one belonging to James Norrington.

"We must fight… to run away!"

With that, he was gone, into the now smoky mist.

I heard a not-so-distant voice call out "Prepare to board!"

I pulled out my pistol in preparation to repel boarders. "Is he always that… nonsensical?" I asked Gibbs as he joined me at the rail.

"Aye. That's Jack for ye."

I dodged a grappling hook that came shooting across the intervening waters between the two ships. As soon it stuck fast into the black wood, I cut the line and threw the hook overboard. But even as I did, six others clattered over the rail, followed swiftly by screeching men in red uniforms, some of whom I knew personally. _'Eh. This might be a bit harder than I had first anticipated._'

I parried a blow and gutted the soldier, fighting my way through the melee, trying desperately to find the Captain. Someone grabbed my arm from behind, and I spun around, my sword at throat level, intending to behead whoever was impeding me.

Jack ducked swiftly, my sword slicing the top of his hat. "My hat!" he cried, indignant.

"Sorry."

He shook his head. "My cabin. Now."

"I must protest, I-"

He cut me off. "They want you. All it takes is one knock from behind, and you'll never make back aboard this ship again. Now go."

I pursed my lips, but saw his point. "Fine."

He gave me a shove in the right direction for good measure.


	7. Chapter 7

"That looks rather nasty, love."

I looked up, startled. Jack was standing in the doorway, surveying me with hooded eyes.

"What does?"

He gestured. "That four inch gash on yer shoulder."

I looked, and was unpleasantly surprised to see that he was right – I had a deep sword slash running from the point of my shoulder diagonally down, stretching halfway to my elbow. "Eh. Well, that's unpleasant."

"To say the least." His boots thumped on the cabin floor as he crossed the room to one of the many old, battered sea chests lining the walls. "I'll wrap it up for ye." He yanked up the lid, ignoring the loudly protesting squeak from the long rusted hinges, and practically dove inside, rooting around in search of something. After a few moments of searching, he came up with a torn, wrinkled old white linen shirt. He started tearing it into long, thick strips.

"I didn't even notice it."

He didn't answer, concentrating on pushing the edges of the wound together as he wrapped it tightly in makeshift bandages.

"Where are we?"

"Headed towards the Florida coast. A goodly way away from Port Royal."

"Never thought I'd hear those words, they's music t' my ears. Why La Florida?"

"To visit an old friend, who will be _very_ interested to meet you, love."

"Me? Why?"

He tied the last knot and held out the palm of his hand. On it glistened a single, pristine drop of blood, sparkling and flashing like a lustrous ruby in the lanternlight. "This. This is the reason."

I stared at the droplet, hovering on his skin like a bead of crimson oil. "I'm beginning to think I underestimated the power of my familial name."

"You've no idea." He said dryly, the humor suddenly returning to his ebony eyes. "The men that swooned over Bellamy! 'Twas remarkable…"

I snorted with laughter. "That's a fine way to remember her."

He swept his hat off his head and made a sweeping bow, mock contrite. "Beggin' yer pardon. I meant no disrespect."

"None taken. She was, after all, a pirate."

We sat in silence for a moment, each with our own thoughts.

Jack played with the large emerald ring on his forefinger. "The Sparrow bloodline has always continued through the male line... and we've always been the Keepers of the Code, ever since it was set down by the pirates Morgan an' Bartholomew." His eyes were dark and far away. "My father is the current Keeper."

I was hesitant to bring up the subject, but curiosity soon conquered apprehension. "Will said your father is immortal… is that true?"

"The Keeper lives until he chooses to die."

I was stunned for a moment.

He chuckled at my reaction.

"How old is he, then?"

"Teague is in his 213th year of duty, making him about 250 years old. He is the longest-livin' captain in Sparrow history."

"My goodness."

"Indeed."

"And… will he choose to die?"

"Aye."

"And… will you take his place?"

"Perhaps." He was pensive. "The Fiddlers..."

I waited for him to continue.

"Fiddler blood has always passed through the women... and strong women they are too. First and only Pirate King was a Fiddler woman by the name of Naiobi."

"Naiobi?"

"Aye."

"What a curious name. What was she King of?"

"The first Brethren Court. The Court is composed of the nine Pirate Lords."

"Ah."

"So, seeing as Bellamy passed over t' the next world abou' twenty years ago, it would seem you," he prodded my arm, carefully avoiding the bandaged part, "are the only Fiddler left on this earth. And that means you are in line to be the next King."


	8. Chapter 8

I stared at him. "It's not possible."

"Not probable."

"What… why… why has no one found me, told me of this?"

He dropped my gaze, fingering his ring again. "Nobody knew. Bellamy swore she'd die childless, I heard with me own ears." He stood, crossed the room once more and opened an opulent, floor-to-ceiling cabinet, clearly pillaged from some rich merchant ship. He pulled out a bottle of some dark, reddish rum and tossed it to me. "Taste that, love. You'll like it."

I caught the bottle in my good hand and pulled the cork out with my teeth, spitting it to the side. I took a swig, swallowed with difficulty, and inhaled sharply. "Well! It's rather… spicy."

Jack grinned, his gold teeth flashing in the dim light. "It's Shipwreck rum. Brings back memories, that does."

I shot him a quizzical look. "Shipwreck?"

"Shipwreck Cove. Home of the King, the Court, the Keeper, and m' good self until the age of twelve."

"Ah." I took another swallow, liking the distinctly apple-cloves-cedar burn of it.

Jack watched through shrewd eyes. Not liking the look in his eyes, I offered him the bottle, knowing it would be an instant distraction. He took it gratefully, downing more in one gulp than I did in three.

"Who is this friend of yours we're sailing towards?"

He thumped the bottle back down on the table and wiped his mouth on his sleeve. "Dear Tia Dalma."

My eyebrows rose. "She's an obeah?"

"Aye." He took another swig and passed the bottle back to me. "An old friend of the family. Advisor t' the Keeper fer as long as any kin remember, even if she is a bit testy."

"Another immortal…" I muttered. "The world outside of the Governor's gates is quite strange indeed."

He laughed, his voice richer for the rum he'd drunk. "You've no idea, love."

**

"'M not lettin' y' out 'n deck." Jack's rum hazed eyes focused on me with difficulty, fuzzy but retaining a sharp shred of intelligence. "Y'll end up 'n the sea."

I opened my mouth to protest, but thought better of it as the words became jumbled up on their way out. Unfortunately, they came out anyway. "I'm not as think as you drunk I am."

"Ah, but you are. Yer stayin' here, m' love."

A warning Elizabeth once gave me floated briefly through my cloudy mind. _'Don't let him get you drunk. Jack is far cleverer than he seems, and he is a pirate, after all.' _"'S too late fer that, 'm afraid." I said out loud.

He grinned, his breath not merely hinting at but heralding the rum he'd drunk. "Exshellent!" he half-shouted, slurring almost unintelligibly. He pointed waveringly at the rumpled bed stowed in the corner. "Bunk. Now."

Even through my severe inebriation, my manners persisted. "But where'll y' sleep?"

He immediately collapsed back into his large, beaten leather chair. "Right here, love."

"Alrigh', then." I tottered towards the suddenly inviting bunk and fell down upon it, sinking deep in to the pleasantly Jack-scented linens. I was sucked instantly towards unconsciousness, and two thoughts had time to float across my brain before I passed out. One, was I safe, alone, with Jack here? Yes, I decided instantly, and realized that I trusted him – with my life, even.


End file.
